


Do I wanna know

by ifzi0531



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Forced Marriage, Maybe - Freeform, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 17:33:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2701427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifzi0531/pseuds/ifzi0531
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall shook his head. “You don’t know that.” He replied defensively. But when Harry stared at him with a look of understanding and compassion, Niall could feel his heart start to crumble. “Oh, god..Harry-“ He said, lips quivering as the sudden realization started to rush into his mind at once. “I love Zayn, oh my god, I’m <i>in</i> love with Zayn.” </p><p>Or </p><p>The one where Niall and Zayn were forced into marriage, and feelings ensued.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do I wanna know

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's been a while. I wrote this a couple of months ago, and was debating whether I really want to post it or not. Apologies in advance if this story is not as good as it should be. You know how it is when the ideas seem to be good in your head, but not so good on paper, something like that. :D 
> 
> Anyway, thanks to my beta a.k.a an awesome girl/author, miss **[fuzzyslippers8](http://fuzzyslippers8.tumblr.com/)**. Thanks for pointing out the grammar mistakes, and all of those little details. :) 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (I wish I own Niall).

“I hope you know that this is only temporary and I hate this,” Niall snarled, both arms still crossing over his chest as his eyes glued on the road ahead of him, glaring through the windshield. At that moment, he felt so mad. _So_ angry at the world for being unfair. Or maybe just at his parents. And the guy who was driving beside him. Along with the guy’s parents. _Everyone._

Zayn sighed slightly, glancing briefly at the guy in the passenger seat before he focused his attention to the road again. “Don’t be such a brat.” 

Niall turned his head sharply to glare at the guy. 

The guy, Zayn, which Niall had just learnt his name, right before he signed the marriage certificate. Yes, the legal document that had officially declared them as a married couple. 

Just the word _married_ gave Niall a shudder. He got married. To a guy that he didn’t even know. He had a boyfriend back in university but apparently, nobody cared about that little fact. He knew that he would be screwed if his boyfriend found out that he had married, to this guy. His eyes were still daggered through the guy’s face. He didn’t care if he was really being a brat, because he was just _so_ angry that he needed to lash out. The guy seemed to be the perfect target. 

“Can we discuss this at home like proper adults?” Niall heard the guy say, too calmly, totally opposite on what Niall was feeling. He turned his head to watch the scenery from the window, while his mind was reeling, trying to make sense about his life at the moment. His mind went back to the memory that made him be in this position in the first place. 

The thing started when a discussion about his future occurred where his parents wanted him to continue their legacy of business once he graduated. However, he had told them that he wanted to pursue music because that was his passion and he had zero interest in business. He was not looking for a job in business at all. He barely managed his own life, for God’s sake. How could he manage the company that his father owned? 

Being a stubborn person that he was, Niall was adamant with his decision not to change his major. But his parents had the leverage of paying his college bills and they decided to use that as a threat, giving him the ultimatum that he couldn’t even fathom. Get married to their best friends’, which was also their business partner’s, son. Apparently, the son was already working at the company and he had the great potential to be the successor and they could continue the legacy. 

Niall remembered being so mad at his parents for forcing his decision. Frankly speaking, it was one of the most heated arguments that he had ever had with his parents. There were some yelling involved, some tears spilled and some hurtful words had been thrown around. 

_“Either you marry their son, or drop the music major and change to business! That’s it!”_

Niall was torn. He didn’t want to get married, but on the other hand, he _really_ didn’t want to drop the major and be cut off from his family. He knew with his little skill that he had, and the money that he had barely saved, he couldn’t survive to pay his college tuition, so with a heavy heart, he agreed. 

 

********************

 

Niall didn’t even realize when he had fallen asleep but he groaned and tried to swat away the hand that was trying to shake him awake. “Go away.” He mumbled sleepily. It took him a moment before he realized that he was in the car with Zayn, and his eyes snapped open. 

He glared at Zayn when the guy laughed at him because he almost tripped on his own feet, trying to get out of the car. “Shut up!” He grumbled moodily, before he grabbed his bags and followed Zayn’s lead towards the house. 

Once they stepped inside, Niall stood awkwardly near the door, not knowing where to go. Zayn seemed to realize that as he stopped walking and turned around to face him. “I know my house is not as big as your parent’s mansion but that doesn’t mean you can’t live here.” 

Niall shook his head. “It’s not that.” He told Zayn, shifting his feet nervously when the guy stared at him. He cleared his throat before he started to speak up again. “Which room that I’m supposed to stay?” 

“My room.” Zayn replied quickly and Niall’s eyes widened. 

Niall glared at Zayn when the other guy laughed at his reaction. “Nah, got you a guest room across mine. Go upstairs, it’s the first room on the left.” He told Niall and in a flash, Niall dashed to his new room. 

He sighed happily when he opened the door, expecting the worst but surprisingly, it was a nice room. It was almost as big as his room back home and he grinned happily when he noticed a small balcony. He could totally imagine where he would spend his time to play his guitar and he sighed happily. 

Niall was still grinning when his phone started to ring and his grin dropped as he saw the name. “Louis.” 

 

********************

 

“Okay, so here are the rules.” Niall started once he plopped down to sit on the couch in front of Zayn, blocking the guy’s view of the television. 

“Can’t you wait until I’m finished watching this?” Zayn grumbled in annoyance. He shifted his position to get a clearer view of the screen, hoping that the younger guy understood that he didn’t have any interest to talk to him at the moment. 

Niall shook his head, grabbing the remote on the table and switched off the television. “Why do old people watch news? It’s so boring.” He said, earning a glare from Zayn, by calling him old, and Niall shrugged carelessly. Well, it was the truth. In fact, he was 5 years older than Niall, at least that was what his parents had told him. 

“Anyway, here are the rules that I’ve listed.” Niall said, straightening the paper on the table, and beckoning for Zayn to come closer to read the words that had been written on it. 

Zayn leaned down slightly, squinting his eyes to read the handwriting. “Rule #1: Do not enter my room without my permission.” He read the words out loud. Then, he raised his eyebrows at the other guy. “You do realize that this is _my_ house, right?” 

Niall nodded and shrugged. “So? You’re married to me, so basically, this is my house too.” He pointed out. 

Zayn shook his head before he glanced down to read the paper again. “Rule #2: We don’t tell anyone we’re married. Only family and close friends are allowed.” He read, and nodded. “Fair enough.” He said, before he continued. “Rule #3: This marriage will end once I graduated.” 

Niall nodded. “Yes. We agreed on this, right? You can continue with your boring business stuff, while I can pursue my interest in music. It seems like a win-win situation for us.” 

Zayn hummed, staring at the words, before he glanced up to look at the guy again. “But what about our parents? You think they would agree?” He asked, and Niall shrugged slightly at him. 

“I don’t really care. Plus, by that time, I will have already graduated, so I won’t be worried if they want me to drop my major.” Niall replied. “So, anyway, read the last rule.” 

“Rule #4: We don’t talk to each other outside of necessity.” Zayn read, then he stared blankly at Niall. “I don’t really get it.” 

Niall sighed. “And you’re the one who is supposed to be older and wiser.” He deadpanned. “Look, I know we’re married, but it’s not like we love each other, right? Plus, I have my boyfriend at the uni. So here’s the deal, since the parents want us to live here together, let’s just live here, as a..hurm, housemate? I think that’s fair enough. You have your work, I have my own life. So, we don’t have to pretend that we like each other, cause we both know the truth.” 

Zayn nodded, finally understanding Niall’s point. He contemplated on his choices at the moment. All the rules seemed easy enough to obey. “That’s fine by me.” He said finally. 

Niall grinned, before he extended his hand for Zayn to shake. “I have a feeling that this arrangement will be great for both of us.” 

 

********************

 

It didn’t turn out great. 

After their little arrangement, both of them seemed to obey the rules, at least for a day. 

Then it all came crashing down to the drain when Zayn was barging into Niall’s room, startling the younger. Zayn was adamant about finding his tie in the closet in the room, because he thought he had placed it there a long time ago. Niall was mad at him, first, for barging through, and two, for breaking the rules. 

“I don’t really care, Niall! I need that tie for the meeting!” Zayn yelled, his movement frantic as he tried to search for the tie in the closet, which apparently had been filled with Niall’s outfits and stuff. 

Niall grabbed one of his shirts from Zayn’s hand, standing in front of his closet and stared at the older guy furiously. “Well, fucking buy a new one or just use the other tie, god damn it! You’re invading my privacy!” 

It ended up with Zayn being furious as ever and late for the meeting and Niall was left with a sour mood for the whole day. 

 

********************

 

Niall giggled when Louis started to tickle him and let out a shriek that he would not admit to anyone, when they plopped down on the couch. When his boyfriend leaned down to kiss him, Niall eagerly responded, missing the warmth from his boyfriend. 

“Who the fuck is this?”

Niall’s eyes opened quickly, as he pulled away from Louis, only to find Zayn was standing in the middle of the living room, staring furiously at both of them. 

“He’s my boyfriend.” Niall replied. He started to stand, pulling Louis along with him to face Zayn. “His name-“

“I don’t even care who the fuck his name is! You don’t bring a stranger to my house without my permission!” Zayn’s voice boomed through the house.

“Cool bro. Don’t talk to him like that.” Louis piped in, angering Zayn more as he glared at the guy. Louis seemed to get the signal as he backed away slightly. 

However, Niall didn’t bulge, he too was glaring at Zayn. “What the hell is your problem? You can’t just barge into this house, shouting like a mad man!” 

Zayn huffed angrily, still glaring at Niall. “Well, you know what? I can do whatever I want because this is _my_ house! And if I say you can’t bring a stranger here, you can’t!” 

“Why?” Louis’s voice is heard again as he looked at both Niall and Zayn in confusion. 

“Because I’m his husband!” Zayn snapped. 

“Zayn!” Niall yelled disbelievingly. He looked at Louis’s expression and right there and then, he knew he was screwed. “Louis, I can explain. He’s-“

“You’re married? I thought you said he’s your housemate. You lied to me?” 

Niall moved closer towards his boyfriend, trying to grab his hand but the guy pulled away, and Niall felt his heart broke. “Yes, I’m married. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I can explain, please, Louis. I-“ 

“You freaking liar!” Louis shouted angrily, before he turned around, leaving the house with an angry stride. “Don’t you ever call me again!” 

Niall watched as his boyfriend went out the door, leaving him and he can’t help but let out a choked sob. He never thought that thing would happen like this. He thought he could keep the secret for few more months and he could spill all the beans once he graduated. 

Zayn felt something tug in his heart as he watched the crestfallen look on Niall’s face. “Shit. Niall, I’m sorry. I was just stressed with works. I didn’t mean to-“

Niall turned around. His sadness was now replaced with anger as he stared at Zayn furiously. “I hate you!” He hissed with such venom that it made Zayn flinch, before he dashed to his own room, leaving Zayn alone, feeling like a biggest jerk in the world. 

 

********************

 

They stopped talking to each other altogether. 

 

********************

 

Niall groaned loudly as he heard the ringtone of his phone. Lazily, he rolled to his back, and stretched his arm to grab the phone from the bedside table. “Hello.” He picked up the call sleepily, and didn’t even bother to open his eyes. 

“Ni! It’s mom! We’re coming to your house for the weekend.” 

“Okay.” Niall hummed, still feeling half-asleep. But a few moments later, the words started to register into his brain, making his eyes snap open. “You guys are coming? When? Where are you guys now?” He asked in panic. He threw off his duvet, starting to get up from his bed and marching to the room in front of him. 

“We just landed at the airport, and we’ll take a cab. See you guys in about an hour. Love you.” His mother said before she ended the call. 

Niall felt his heart pounding in his chest as the call ended, standing in bafflement. “Shit! Shit!” He cursed out loud, and without knocking on the door, he barged into Zayn’s room. The older guy was still sleeping under the quilt so without any warning, Niall pulled the quilt off. 

“What the fuck!” Zayn cursed out loud as his eyes snapped open and he sat up abruptly, glaring at Niall. “What are you doing? Can’t you see that I was sleeping?” He yelled furiously. He really hated it when someone disturbed his sleep and it was a weekend for god’s sake. 

“My parents are coming! They want to stay here for the weekend.” Niall announced, his voice higher due to anxiety. 

Zayn, who was in the middle of rubbing his eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep, stopped moving. His eyes widened before he stared at Niall in surprise. “Fuck!” He cursed out loud before he started to stand up. He grabbed his shirt on the floor, before he turned around to look at Niall again. “What are you still doing there? Go get your stuff and move here!” He barked, startling Niall out of his panic state. 

“What? Why?” Niall shrieked confusingly. 

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Where do you think they’ll sleep?” 

Niall gulped nervously, before he started to move to his room again. He stood in the middle of his room, scratching his head in confusion as he looked at the stuffs in the room. Which should he move out? Which could he leave in the room? All of the things in the room were practically his. 

Shit. 

What if his parents found out about the lied that he had told them all along? What if his mom knew about all of the lies that he had told her? Every time she called, and started to ask about their life, Niall had always told her that things were going great. That he and Zayn were getting along so well, and he didn’t have the heart to shatter the happiness in his mother’s voice whenever she heard that. He even said the same thing to Zayn’s mom sometimes when she called. What if they knew? Would his parents go mad at him? 

“Hey, it’ll be fine.” Zayn’s voice broke Niall out of his stupor. He turned around to find the older guy was already leaning on the door of his room, staring at him. Niall took on his appearance and couldn’t help but be slightly amazed on how composed Zayn looked at the moment, compared to a few minutes ago. While he himself, was feeling like he could burst out at any moment. 

“How? What if they notice that we’re faking this marriage? What if they force me to drop my major completely? What if-“

Zayn shook his head, cutting Niall off mid-sentence. “They won’t know.” He said, with confidence laced in his voice. 

Niall cocked his eyebrows. “How would you know that?” 

“Because I’m older and wiser.” Zayn replied to the younger guy. “And because I’m going to be the best husband ever.” He added, before he winked at Niall cheekily and walked out of the room. 

 

********************

 

“Aw, look at my baby. He looks healthier now. Look at this chubby little cheeks.” Niall’s mom cooed as she started to pinch his cheeks. 

 

“Mom!” Niall whined, swatting his mom’s hand away from his face. That earned a chuckle from Zayn, who was standing beside him, his left arm wrapping around Niall’s shoulder, trying to put up a front of a _happy couple_ in front of the parents. 

“And Zayn, you look great too. Niall must be taking care of you so good.” His mom commented, making Niall’s heart drop slightly. If only his mom knew that the first time they had spoken to each other directly was only this morning, after a couple of weeks. _If only._

“Yeah, he is.” Zayn said, wrapping his arm tighter around Niall’s shoulder, ignoring the way Niall was sending him a death glare for even touching him. 

“Maura, leave the boy alone.” His father piped in, and Niall finally breathed in relief once his mother stopped fussing over him and turned her attention towards the man beside her instead. 

Niall managed to force a smile, for the sake of his parents. He sighed inwardly, and from the back of his mind he knew this was going to be a freaking long weekend. 

 

********************

 

“So, have you guys thought about the date to do the ceremony?” 

Niall glanced up from his food and raised his eyebrows at his mother. “Ceremony?” He asked, confused. 

“Wedding ceremony.” His mother replied casually, but Niall’s eyes widened and he started to choke on his food. He started to cough hard, having trouble to stop, until he felt Zayn’s hand starting to thump behind his back to relieve the choke. He quickly grabbed the glass of water that Zayn was handing him, drinking it in one shot, as he tried his best to remain calm. 

“I don’t think we need to do that.” Niall said once he put the glass back on the table. “I mean, we are legally married now.” He added, trying to wiggle his way out of the marriage talk. He thought his parents were already over it. 

Apparently he was wrong when he saw his mother’s eyes widened, daggering at him. “What are you talking about? That was only at the registrar office. You were the one who promised that we’d do the ceremony later on. It’s been two months, I think that’s enough time that we gave you already.” 

Niall gulped nervously at his mother’s tone. He knew that tone very well since he was a kid. And at the moment, he really didn’t know what to do. Being married was one thing. But being married at the church, with the guests, and people that would see him and Zayn at the altar, was another thing. He didn’t want to do that. As if it was not good enough for him to be forced into this marriage, now his mother was practically forcing him to announce the marriage for public to know. 

At sensing Niall’s discomfort, Zayn smiled politely at his mother-in-law. “I don’t mind if we don’t do the ceremony, Maura. We are both a little bit busy now.” He said calmly. 

Niall watched as his mother softened her expression once Zayn spoke and part of him despised the older guy for being able to do that. 

“Aw, Zayn. But it’s not fair to you. We decided to hold off the ceremony because of Niall, now he wants to hold it off again, that’s not fair for you and your family.” 

Niall glanced back down to his food, toying with it silently. He felt bad, really. He knew it was not fair for Zayn’s family but it was not fair for him too. He wasn’t even ready to get married, but look what happened. 

Zayn watched as the younger guy’s expression turned into a frown as he toyed with his food and it tugged his heartstring. He didn’t really know why the parents were so hard on Niall about the subject. “It’s okay. I’m busy with work nowadays too. You know how hard it is now that both companies are merged.” 

“Yeah, about that-“Niall’s father interrupted, and Zayn mentally congratulated himself for being able to change the subject. 

Niall listened as they started to talk about business and for once, he was grateful that Zayn had saved him from his own mother’s wrath. 

 

********************

 

Niall was washing the dishes when he felt the presence of someone beside him. He ignored the person, not even glancing to his side because he already knew who it was. 

“I never knew that you could cook.” Zayn commented. He moved closer to the sink and started to help Niall to dry the dishes. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Niall deadpanned. He sneaked a glance at Zayn. “What are you doing here? Thought you needed to sit with the parents?” 

Zayn shrugged. “Your mom chased me out. Told me that I should help my husband in the kitchen.” He told Niall casually. 

Niall rolled his eyes. “Of course you do.” He deadpanned sarcastically. 

Zayn raised his eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, his tone defensive. 

Niall shrugged. “I don’t know about you Zayn, but I don’t really appreciate that kiss just now.” He commented, glaring at Zayn. It was so unexpected that it made Niall surprised and mad at the same time, when Zayn leaned towards him and kissed him once they finished their foods, and the older guy was complimenting about how delicious the foods were. Of course, his mother was cooing over them, and his father just silently sipping his drink, while smiling at them from the other side of the dinner table when the kiss happened. 

Zayn shook his head. “You are the one who said that we need to act like a freaking happy couple so that your parents won’t notice.” He pointed out. “Plus, it was only at the cheek. Not a big deal.” He added. 

“Whatever. I don’t like it.” Niall grumbled, still annoyed about what Zayn had done earlier. In front of his parents nonetheless. That guy had such a nerve and it annoyed Niall so bad. 

“Why? You’d rather let your boyfriend do it?” Zayn blurted out. 

Niall stopped his movement, taking a deep breath, before he turned off the faucet. Then he turned to his left to face Zayn. “You do know that you’re the reason why we broke up, right? If you didn’t open your big mouth-“

“What? If I didn’t open my big mouth, you would continue lying to him? Like you are doing to your parents?” Zayn snapped. He felt a little guilty when he saw a flash of hurt across Niall’s face. 

“Fuck you.” Niall hissed angrily before he took off. 

 

********************

 

If Niall thought that dinner was the worst time that he had ever had, he was wrong. It didn’t even compare to the moment when he was standing in the middle of Zayn’s room, not knowing what to do. His parents had gone to sleep in the other room. Niall had to lie about why most of his stuff were there. He had to lie saying that Zayn’s closet was already full so he had put his stuff there. He felt so disappointed with himself that he needed to lie for everything. But he didn’t have a choice. And of course, with that lie too, it had led him to the situation that he was in at the moment. 

“Why are you still standing there?” Zayn asked from his bed, staring at Niall with half-closed eyes. He really wanted to sleep but with Niall still standing in the middle of the room was not helping him to sleep at all. “Switch off the main light first.” He said to the younger guy before he pulled up his comforter and started to close his eyes.

“Where am I supposed to sleep?” Niall asked, not loud enough for his parents to hear from across the room, but not quiet enough for Zayn not to hear the question. 

Zayn’s eyes opened. He shifted, tilting his head slightly to look at the other guy. “This bed is made for two, or three if you want, you know.” He pointed out. That was the true after all. The size of the bed can fit more than one person if they wanted to. 

Niall’s eyes widened, as he glanced between Zayn and the bed. “No fucking way I’m going to sleep in the same bed with you.” He said firmly. 

Zayn groaned out loud, before he started to sit up to face Niall properly. “Are you always being this stubborn? Just sleep here, god damn it. What are you going to do? Sleep on the couch and lie to your parents again if they ask?” 

“I-“

“Whatever.” Zayn grumbled moodily, already feeling cranky for having a lack of sleep for the day. “For all I know, you can sleep in the bathtub if you want.” He added before he lied down and closed his eyes again. 

Niall watched as Zayn started to fall asleep, debating on whether to sleep on the same bed with the guy or just sleep on the floor. With a sigh, he grabbed one of Zayn’s pillows from the bed. Fuck Zayn, he thought. He could survive one night sleeping on the floor. 

 

********************

 

And if Niall woke up the next morning, comfortably under the blanket and on the soft mattress, neither of them had talked about it. 

 

********************

 

The visit from the parents didn’t change anything at all. 

They went back to their usual routine after Niall’s parents left. 

By routine, it was just by saying a simple “hi” in the morning _if_ they ate the breakfast at the same time. Other than that, most of the time was spent separately. 

Niall was busy with his assignments and Zayn was busy with work. 

Although sometimes.. 

“Niall Horan! What the fuck have you done? Why has my white shirt turned to pink?!” Zayn shrieked from the laundry room. 

Niall’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake of putting the white clothes with the coloured ones. “Fuck.” 

..the routine meant never stopping fighting and cursing at each other. 

 

********************

 

Niall didn’t know how many hours had passed since he had started to work on his paper, but one thing that he knew for sure was that he felt like an old man. His back had started to hurt for hunching over his laptop to type his work, non-stop. The blame was definitely on him for not following the ergonomic rules that he always read, but knowing himself, he knew once he stopped, it would take time for him to resume his work again. 

He stretched his neck and rolled his shoulder, feeling slightly relieved as he heard the cracking sound, relieving the tension knot. His stomach started to grumble, and he realized that he had skipped dinner too. He sighed loudly. At times like this, he wished he was still at his parents’ house, because at least he could call up one of his maids to bring the food to his room if he was too busy to get the food himself. With reluctant steps, Niall started to move, heading downstairs. 

He yawned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as he reached the end of the steps. He was about to step further towards the kitchen when he heard a loud clatter from the living room. He raised his eyebrows, glancing at his watch. “Zayn?” He called out curiously. He wondered if the older guy had come home because he didn’t hear the car’s engine earlier. But it could be because he was too busy with his work and didn’t notice anything else. 

Niall entered the living room, only to see a masked man, standing in the middle of the living room, holding what he suspected was a knife. It took him a few seconds to realize that his house was broken into and he was indeed facing the burglar. Without any further delay, he turned around, starting to run from the burglar. He felt his heart pounded rapidly as he heard the footsteps behind, obviously chasing him. Niall was about to reach the stairs when he felt the burglar pull on his feet and he dropped down on the floor, cursing in pain as his knees touched the hard ground. “Take what you want, please don’t hurt me.” He begged as he backed away from the burglar but the man tightened his grip on Niall’s collar, dragging him down again. Niall wondered if the burglar was alone or not, but his thought was interrupted when the burglar started to pull his hair, tilting his head up. 

“Where’s the safebox?” 

It took a moment for Niall to understand the muffled words behind the mask before he shook his head. “I don’t know.” He replied and it turned out to be the wrong answer when the burglar started to put the knife on Niall’s neck, and he could feel the tip of the knife just under his vein and he shuddered. “I don’t know. I swear. This isn’t my house!” 

Although Niall couldn’t see the face of the burglar because of the mask, he could still see how the eyes were staring at him, gauging for the truth of his words. Niall prayed silently for Zayn to be home at the moment because only God knew what the burglar would do if he couldn’t get the safebox. Niall’s shaking figure must’ve given the burglar the answer as he started to loosen his grip on Niall’s hair and lowered down the knife. 

Niall inhaled deeply, starting to feel relieved but his mind started to reel, thinking on what to do. He didn’t know how long it would be before the burglar would hurt him, or worse, kill him. He mustered his strength, praying silently on what he was about to do, before he kicked the burglar’s stomach and ran for his life. The nearest place that he could reach was the stairs that would lead him to his room, where he knew he could call the police. 

Before Niall could reach the final steps, he felt the burglar catch onto his feet again, making him stumble down a few steps and he felt a searing pain on his right arm, making him cry a bit. 

“You think you can run from me?” The burglar yelled, making Niall cower and at the same time that the burglar started to pull out his knife again, Niall heard his name being called from the front door. 

“Zayn!!!!!” Niall shouted as loud as he could, startling the burglar and before he knew it, the burglar had run away through the back door, leaving him alone on the steps, cradling his right arm in pain. 

 

********************

 

The moment Zayn stepped into the house, he knew something had happened. He thought the front door was opened because Niall was nearby but apparently, there was no sight of the other guy at the moment. He stepped further into the house cautiously, and his eyes widened when he saw the mess in the living room. He pulled out his phone, ready to call the authority if he had to, because by the look of it, he was pretty sure his house was broken into. “Niall!” He called out, silently praying that the younger boy was not in the house. Zayn felt his heart start to pound in panic when he heard the frantic voice of Niall, calling for him. And in a flash, he was caught off guard when he saw someone was running out from the backdoor, obviously the burglar. 

Zayn wanted to chase the burglar but he stopped when he heard the whimper, obviously by Niall. He turned around instead, making his way to the stairs, only to find a crying Niall, cradling his right arm and by the look of the awkward bend of the arm, Zayn was pretty sure it was broken. 

“Niall.” Zayn called out again, this time, he crouched in front of the guy, putting his hand gently on Niall’s knee. “It’s okay. He’s gone now. You can open your eyes. It’s me.” He coaxed gently. It took a moment before Niall finally opened his eyes, and once he saw Zayn, he broke down crying. 

 

********************

 

The doctor confirmed that Niall’s right arm was indeed broken. And by the way his body couldn’t stop shaking, it was also confirmed that he was traumatized. 

 

********************

 

Zayn stopped the car at the front of their house, frowning slightly as he saw the police tape near the front door, obviously securing the house looking for any evidence of the burglar earlier. He turned his head to his side, looking at Niall who was suddenly looking so small in his big jumper, with his right arm in the sling and he still couldn’t stop shivering and it was worrying Zayn. 

“Niall, you’re alright now? Let’s take some rest, okay?” He said gently, tapping his finger gently on Niall’s knee, careful of not startling the younger guy. 

Niall finally glanced up, turning his head to look at Zayn and the older guy felt his heart break a little when he saw the expression on Niall’s face. “I can’t….I can’t sleep here tonight.” Niall said, his voice small and vulnerable and instinctively Zayn’s hand caught Niall’s, stroking it gently. 

“Okay, we’ll head to the hotel, and we can come back here later, okay?” Zayn asked, already starting the engine and smiling slightly at Niall to reassure the guy that he understood. 

 

********************

 

They ended up booking only one room at Niall’s insistence as he almost broke down when Zayn was asking if he wanted a separate room. “I don’t want to be alone.” The way Niall looked at Zayn, with tears unshed, it was right there and then that Zayn had felt that the urge to protect the younger guy came in so strong that it was overwhelming. 

It led to the moment in the room, where Zayn was practically taking care of Niall. He helped the younger guy with his clothes, tucked him in and when he felt Niall start to cry silently, he gathered the small guy into his arms and eventually they fell asleep. 

 

********************

 

Niall gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to write his assignment using his good left hand. Typing with two hands was hard enough for him before, but since he was left with his only left hand at the moment, it was harder and not to mention, frustrating. He let out a loud sigh, staring at the screen blankly. 

“Niall! Dinner’s ready.” 

That voice made Niall sigh once again. “Coming!” He replied loudly, hoping that Zayn could hear him. After all, their new house was smaller now. After that night, Zayn was insistence to move to one of his other houses, the guarded flat, with a great security, he told Niall. Niall was reluctant at first, but to be honest, he was still having trouble living at the old house, feeling like the house was too big when he was alone and he didn’t want to repeat the same event that happened before. Just thinking about it, made him shudder.

“Hey, Zayn.” Niall greeted once he sat at the dinner table, with his plate already served at his usual spot. He watched as Zayn smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but smile in return. 

Zayn waited until Niall had sat down, before he started to cut Niall’s meat into pieces. Niall shook his head. “I can do it, Zayn.” He said, starting to grab the knife from Zayn. 

“Niall, we already talked about this. Your arm is still in a cast, how would you eat with one hand?” 

Niall sighed, starting to feel like his annoyance and frustration were building up again. It was bad enough that he needed Zayn’s help to change clothes and even to tie his shoes because of his broken arm, now Zayn was literally trying to baby him with this simple act. For the first few days, he didn’t mind that Zayn had practically spoon-fed him because it was hard for him to eat but at the moment, he was so frustrated. 

“I can do it!” Niall said stubbornly, glaring at Zayn before he started to cut the meat using his left hand. It took time, for sure, but he almost managed to do it. However, the universe had a different plan for him when the meat jumped out of the plate and Niall huffed angrily. 

He knew Zayn was staring at him and he felt like such a failure, and when Zayn started to help him, grabbing his knife and fork, he jerked away and shook his head. “I’m not a freaking invalid!” He yelled suddenly, startling Zayn. 

“Niall-“

“Don’t. Just don’t. Stop using that voice on me, okay? I’m not a baby! I can do things by myself! I don’t need your help!” Niall continued, facing Zayn. 

“Well then have fun doing all of those things! Because Lord knows that you’re so freaking stubborn!” Zayn replied heatedly, starting to stand up and leave the other guy alone. He knew it was not Niall’s fault for breaking his arm, but couldn’t the guy at least being thankful that Zayn was helping him? 

Niall threw down the fork and knife, watching Zayn’s retreating figure and part of him was feeling bad for snapping at Zayn. “Zayn…” He called out, making the older guy stop walking, but he was still not turning around to look at Niall. 

“I’m sorry.” Niall apologized quietly, but he knew Zayn could hear him. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just… I’m having a bad day, okay? I can’t finish my assignment because it was too hard to type with one hand, and I need to submit it tomorrow. And I was so stressed about it and usually I would play my guitar to get rid of the stress but I can’t freaking play it now and I…” He burst out, before he continued. “And I wanted to change my clothes because I was uncomfortable but I didn’t want to bother you. I’m not weak.” 

Zayn sighed, before taking a deep breath and turned around to look at Niall again. He stepped closer to the younger guy, taking a seat beside him at the dinner table. “Niall, listen here. You’re one of the strongest person I’ve ever known, okay? I know you’re not invalid. I know you’re not weak. You’re independent as hell. But until your arm is completely healed, let me help you, okay?” 

Niall stared at Zayn, touched by the sincerity of his voice and finally he nodded. “Okay.” He said. 

Zayn smiled, patting Niall’s shoulder gently. Then he started to continue cutting the meat for Niall again. “So, wanna tell me about this assignment that you’re stressing about?” 

 

********************

 

“Zayn is a cool guy.” 

Niall rolled his eyes. “Shut up Harry. I thought we’re supposed to be finishing this song.” He said, still trying to scribble down some of the notes that needed to be changed for their song. At least, he could still write with his left hand and he couldn’t be more grateful for that. 

Niall sighed when Harry continued to invade his personal space, and glanced at him with those heart eyes expression that Niall knew so well. “What?” 

Harry grinned at him. “I notice you’re not badmouthing him when I mention him lately.” He said, raising his eyebrows cheekily at Niall. 

Niall shrugged, ignoring Harry’s comment. “So what?” 

“So….” Harry trailed off, then he scratched his chin, in a thinking manner. “Let me make myself clear. Since the night of the _that_ misfortunate event at your old house, and your broken arm, he has helped you a lot, right? He bought a new house, for you. He even finished your assignment!” 

Niall rolled his eyes again, flicking Harry’s forehead with the tip point of his pen. “First of all, he didn’t buy the house for me. It was his old apartment that he lived in before we got married and lived in a new house together.” He explained. “And for the assignment, that was nothing. He was just helping me because I was so upset over that stupid essay, okay? Plus, I didn’t ask for that.” 

Harry’s eyes widened in excitement. “See, that’s my point! He was so sweet to you.” He pointed out, smiling dreamily. “Are you sure he hates you? Or you guys hate each other? I just have this feeling that you guys will be together in the end.”

That comment earned a flick on Harry’s forehead again, courtesy by Niall. “Shut up, Harry.” He grumbled. “You know I hate him. He made me break up with Louis.” 

“But, Ni-“

“Shut up. I hate him. He hates me. End of story.” 

 

********************

 

Niall slung his bag over his shoulder, starting to move towards the front door, when he heard the murmurs of Zayn’s voice from the kitchen. He wasn’t meant to eavesdrop, but since he needed to walk pass the kitchen, he couldn’t help but overhear the conversation that Zayn was having over the phone. 

“Yeah, I’ll be in a little bit late today.” Niall heard Zayn say towards the other person on the phone. “Yeah, I need you to postpone the meeting for me after lunch hour, is that okay? And yeah, like I said before, re-schedule all of my appointments after 10am. Okay, Bri, thanks, you’re the best secretary ever.” 

Niall heard Zayn end the call and he tried to act like he hadn’t heard anything, trying to backtrack his way to the door, but the universe had a different plan on him when suddenly Zayn turned around. “Hey, you’re here. Let’s get going.” He said to Niall, starting to grab the car keys. 

It was until they were already on the road for a few minutes, Niall started to speak up. “Zayn, you know you don’t have to drive me to the class every day, right? I can take a bus, or I can call Harry to pick me.” He said, glancing at Zayn. 

Zayn hummed, sneaking a glance briefly between Niall and the road. “It’s not a problem, Niall. It’s not like I’ve to rush to work or anything.” 

Niall rolled his eyes. “I heard you talked to your secretary just now.” He blurted out. “I know you’re a busy man, Zayn. You don’t have to put your work on hold for me.” He said. 

Zayn sighed slightly, shaking his head. “If you’re taking a bus, it would take a longer time and route to get you to uni, and Harry lives in another part of the town, it’s not fair to him to fetch you every day. Don’t worry about my work, I can manage.” 

“I don’t want to feel like a burden.”

“You’re not a burden, Niall. Like I told you before, let me help you, okay? Plus, what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t help you to get through this?” Zayn said, smiling reassuringly at Niall, making the younger guy smile in return. 

Niall stared at Zayn’s profile as the older guy was turning his attention to concentrate on the road again. He started to ponder Zayn’s words and then he realized maybe Harry was right. Maybe Zayn didn’t hate him. And maybe, Niall didn’t hate Zayn as much as he thought as well. 

 

********************

 

It was like a new beginning for Niall. For once, he felt really anxious, waiting for Zayn to come home and spending time with the older guy. It was odd at first, when they were still trying to be civilized around each other. But when they started to talk about their favorite music, it was all kind of soaring up. Turned out, they both loved the same kind of music and the conversations took off to movies, life inspiration and ended up with both of them smiling at each other, enjoying each other’s company.

 

********************

 

“Zayn, what do you think of this one?” Niall asked as he stood in front of the mirror. It had been hard for him to shop for new clothes lately, what with Harry always going away to God knows where, doing God knows what, Niall didn’t really have anyone to give him a little insight on what he should buy. But when he told the little tiny information to Zayn that morning, the older guy had offered to accompany him and they ended up at the store, and after two hours, Niall was still not finding the right clothes for him. 

“I think you look great in that, Niall.” Zayn commented, and Niall saw from the mirror as the older guy only glanced at him once before he glanced down at his phone again. 

Niall huffed, turning around before he crossed his arms over his chest, obviously annoyed. “Look, if you want to look at the goddamn phone for every two seconds, I might as well go shopping alone.” He snapped, slightly irritated with Zayn’s lack of enthusiasm. 

At that, Zayn quickly glanced up, and hastily slipped his phone back into his pocket, and then he smiled sheepishly at Niall. “Sorry, it was my mum.” 

Niall’s irritation went away and he blinked. “Oh.” 

Zayn shook his head as he looked at Niall from head to toe. “You look great, Niall. Honestly.” He said, giving his two thumbs up at Niall. 

Niall’s face broke into a smile after that, not that he could stay mad for long, but the sincerity in Zayn’s tone made him happy. It was not long after that they finally got some decent clothes for him. 

 

********************

 

It was later that night, before he went to sleep, that Niall started to think that they both actually looked like they were a married couple. It wasn’t obvious at first, but as they spent the whole day together, it was more than once that people had told them what a beautiful couple they were. 

It started when Zayn insisted to pay for his clothes and Niall didn’t want him to, and the cashier looked at them lovingly, “you really should let your boyfriend pay for you, honey.” 

“Actually, I’m his husband.” Zayn told the cashier, while smiling and pulling out his credit card to pay. Niall, on the other hand was too shocked to comment anything after that. He had never heard people point out that fact or Zayn to admit that he was Niall’s husband before that. But then Niall realized it was because they had never spent the whole day in public together before. 

They spent a couple of hours more, just walking around the mall, and even looking out for things to buy for their home. It felt so domestic to Niall. There was one time when an elder couple kept smiling at them, as they overheard him and Zayn’s little argument on what colour of the curtain that they should buy for the house. Niall felt his heart flutter when the older woman and her husband had told them that he and Zayn sounded like both of them when they first moved into their first home together. 

Niall swore he could see Zayn blush a little but he himself was worse than that, he knew. He didn’t know why but the fact that people kept pointing out that they looked like a beautiful married couple, made his heart flutter. 

 

********************

 

Everything felt perfect. 

Until it wasn’t. 

 

********************

 

The first thing in the morning that Niall wanted to buy was the cereal so that was how he ended up at the store, with Zayn in tow. 

“I told you, I can buy this thing by myself.” Niall told Zayn as he looked at the way the older guy’s eyes were still half-closed and Niall knew that it was too early for him, for both of them actually to be out on the weekend. But Niall had those sudden craving on having the cereal for breakfast and it was his comfort food, so he decided to go out early. The thing was, he bumped into Zayn on the way out and the older guy insisted to follow, despite his half-closed eyes and sleepy voice. 

“Nah, I want my cereal box too.” Zayn said, grinning at Niall. Niall shook his head, as they wandered around the aisle. It was near the corner when he bumped into someone, and Niall fell flat on the floor. 

“Oh shit! Are you okay?” Someone asked and Niall had to shake his head for a bit to get a clearer bearing before he started to stand up again, with the help from the one who had bumped him. 

“Yeah. Yeah.” Niall replied, as he looked at the other guy. 

“I’m so sorry.” The guy apologized and Niall shook his head again, wincing a bit and he slowly lifted his finger to touch the small bump which had already formed at the back of his head. 

“It’s okay.” Niall said and before he could say anything else, he spotted Zayn from behind the guy. He waved for Zayn to come and the older guy reached both of them with a slight frown on his face, his eyes never left Niall. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Zayn asked, worried laced in his eyes as he looked at Niall, making the younger guy blush slightly at the attention. 

“Yeah, just bumped into this man here. No big deal. Probably just a small bruise.” Niall told Zayn. 

It was when Niall mentioned about the other guy that Zayn started to turn around and Niall watched as both guys in front of him gasped as they looked at each other. 

“Liam!” Zayn said happily, and if Niall was shocked by the way Zayn was pulling the other guy into his hug, he didn’t show it. Instead, he watched in curiosity when the guy, _Liam_ , as Zayn had called him, started to smile widely when he hugged Zayn in return. 

Niall was not jealous. (He was. Maybe a bit.) 

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Zayn said to Liam when they pulled away, as Niall watched the scene silently. “Are you on holiday?”

Liam shook his head, still smiling as he looked at Zayn. “Nah, I’m back here for good. Got myself a new job now.” 

“Really? Where?” 

Niall’s head perked in interest too, his eyes never left the two of them as he shifted his feet impatiently. All he wanted to do was to find that goddamn cereal, how did he end up watching the small reunion of Zayn and, whatever the guy’s name was (Liam, Niall told himself but it wasn’t like he cared). 

“MH Corp.” Liam replied, which stopped Niall’s movement as he looked at how the smile on Zayn’s face got bigger. 

“Hell no! Why you’d never tell me!” Zayn shrieked happily, and Niall swallowed thickly as he watched how happy Zayn looked at the moment. 

Liam grinned at Zayn, “I wanted to surprise you, since I’ll only be in the office starting this Monday. But yeah, so now you know, surprise.” He said, making Zayn laugh and Niall swore that the tingling feeling that he was having at the moment was caused by hunger and nothing else. 

Niall was about to excuse himself from them, trying to find a distraction rather than standing there like an intruder, but before he could do that, “so, Zayn who is this?” he heard Liam ask. Niall glanced up to look at Zayn and before he knew it, Zayn put one of his arms around his shoulder. 

“Liam, meet Niall. He’s my husband.” 

And if Niall saw the sudden sadness in the smile that Liam was giving both of them after that, he pretended like he didn’t see any of it. 

 

********************

 

“So, what’s the deal with you and Liam?” Niall asked on their way back home. He didn’t look at Zayn, instead he busied himself with the radio station, trying to be casual as he asked the question. He didn’t want Zayn to think that he was nosy. He was after all, just curious. 

Zayn glanced briefly at Niall before he turned his attention on the road again. “We met in uni in the US. Friends throughout the whole years until we graduated.” 

Niall settled with one of the Bruno Mars’s songs playing on the radio before he leaned back in his seat. “Until graduated? What happened after that? Lost contact?” He asked. 

He noticed how Zayn’s smile faltered slightly, before the older guy nodded. “Yeah.” He said simply, not offering another explanation. Niall didn’t know whether he was supposed to press another question about Liam, because by the way Zayn reacted, there must be something that happened between the both of them. But part of him was so curious. 

“So, are you free next weekend?” Zayn asked suddenly, obviously he didn’t want to talk about Liam anymore and Niall understood that he too, needed to drop that subject. At least at the moment. 

“Yeah, I think so.” Niall replied, looking at Zayn. “Why?” 

Zayn grinned at him. “See, there’s this one company event next week, on Saturday. And I know you’re not really into this kind of boring stuff, but our parents will be there too, so I figured, you know, maybe you would like to come, with me.” 

Niall felt his heart speed up after Zayn had finished with his rambling and he tried to play it cool by mustering a smile at the older guy. “Are you asking for me to be your date, Zayn?” He teased, but deep down he wished that it was true. 

“Technically, we’re married, so I’m obliged to bring you with me.” Zayn deadpanned, earning a pout from Niall. He laughed at Niall’s expression and shook his head. “I’ve a secret, I kinda despise this kind of event too, it’s so boring I might be dead before the foods are even served.” He told Niall. “So, would you be my company so that we can make fun of all those old rich people at the event, Mr. Niall?” 

Niall snorted and laughed after that. He nodded finally. “In that case, I’m in your service, Mr. Zayn.” And he couldn’t stop smiling for the whole day after that. 

 

********************

 

“So, let me get this straight. Zayn bought you a Macbook Pro?” Harry asked, as he walked side by side with Niall heading towards the parking lot of the campus. 

Niall nodded. “Yes, said that it was for my birthday and he remembered that I wanted a laptop that can make it easy for me to do audio recording.” He told Harry. 

Harry whistled, shaking his head. “You rich fuckers.” He muttered, without heat, of course. “So, this is part of where I’m curious, Niall. He bought you a laptop. He paid for your clothes. He paid for your meals. You’re living with him without having to pay anything. If you were not married to him, I’m pretty sure that I just described him as your sugar daddy.” 

That comment made Niall laugh and he punched Harry’s left arm, earning a loud “hey” from the other guy. “You’re an idiot.” 

Harry laughed too. “Well, I speak nothing but the truth.” He said. “So, do you guys sleep together now or what?” He blurted out, making Niall choke. 

“What?? Harry, he’s not my sugar daddy that I need to pay with sex.” Niall said, punching Harry’s arm once again, but this time Harry managed to jerk away to lessen the impact. 

“Yeah, he’s your husband. Which makes things even better. Like, you’re _obligated_ to sleep with him, you know.” Harry said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Niall. 

Usually, Niall would brush Harry’s comments off but this time, his face went redder than usual and Harry’s eyes widened. “Oh, my god! You _do_ sleep together with him!” 

Niall’s eyes widened at Harry’s loud voice. “Damn you Styles, you want to announce it to the whole world or what?” He muttered. “We don’t sleep together, okay? At least not like _that_.”

“Why not?” Harry whined, shaking his head at Niall. “Tell me. Tell me.” 

Niall groaned out loud at his friend’s behavior. “I swear to God that I think Gemma is the manly one in your family.” He deadpanned. 

Harry laughed out loud. “You want to see how _manly_ I am?” He joked, making a kissy face and leaning towards Niall. 

Niall burst out laughing, pushing Harry’s face away. “You’ve a mentality of 5-years old.” He told his friend. “Anyway, the only thing that I can tell you is that, yes, we do sometimes end up sleeping on the same bed, but it’s usually after we end up seeing a movie together or something.” He added, and when Harry was suddenly sobering up, looking at something over his shoulder, Niall shook his head. “What?” 

Harry looked at Niall again. “It’s Louis.” 

 

********************

 

“Hi, Niall. Harry.” Louis greeted as he reached both Niall and Harry at the parking lot. 

“Hi, Louis.” Niall replied, but Harry remained silent, glancing warily between Niall and Louis. Niall almost rolled his eyes as he recognized the sudden tense in Harry’s body when Louis approached them. Harry never liked Louis anyway and Niall knew his friend only tolerated Louis because of his insistence. 

Louis seemed to notice the cold shoulder that Harry was giving him at the moment and Niall felt a slight pity for him. “Urm, can I talk to you, Niall?” Louis asked, glancing at Harry briefly. “Alone?” 

Niall nodded and before Harry could protest, he shook his head at his best friend. “But, Niall..” Harry started to trail off, and Niall sighed. “Harry, please? I’ll call you later, okay? Drive safe.” Niall said, pushing Harry slightly towards the direction of his car. 

It took Harry a moment before he finally sighed in defeat. “Fine. Take care.” He told Niall. “Don’t do anything stupid.” He warned, giving a menace glare to Louis too before he headed towards his car. 

It wasn’t until Harry’s car left the parking lot, that Niall turned to face Louis again. 

“So, what’s up?” Niall asked. 

Niall watched as Louis shrugged, not really looking into his eyes and a part of Niall’s heart felt a bit sorry for the guy in front of him. 

“Nothing. I just..” Louis trailed off. “I miss you.”

Niall sighed slightly. “It wasn’t me who wanted to break up, Louis.” He told the other guy. “I miss you too, yeah, but-“

Before Niall could finish, he suddenly felt Louis’s lips on his and he was too shocked to do anything at the moment, and he couldn’t move. It was mere seconds later that he realized what was happening and he pushed Louis away. He didn’t know why but his mind kept flashing on Zayn’s face at the moment and the bubble of guiltiness had already formed in the pit of his stomach. “Louis, what the fuck? You can’t kiss me like that! Don’t you remember I have a husband?!”

Louis stared at Niall, before he shook his head. “I read your texts, Niall. You told me it was a forced marriage.” He pointed out, looking at Niall in confusion. 

“It was months ago!” Niall said, and then he sighed. “Look, Louis. I miss you, that’s true. You know I loved you. I still love you. But things are different now..I..I don’t know how to say this but things are different between Zayn and I now..” He trailed off. 

Louis smiled sadly at him and suddenly Niall felt so bad. “You love him, don’t you?” 

Niall’s eyes widened. “No, I-“ He trailed off, before he continued. “I love you, Louis. I do.” 

Louis shook his head. “No, you don’t. You think you do, but you _loved_ me, Niall. You’re not _in love_ with me, not anymore.” He told Niall. 

Niall blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears that was about to pour out. “Louis-“ 

The other guy stared at him in silence, then he smiled, and Niall could see that he was trying to hold back his own tears too. “I guess I’m just too late to win your heart back.” He said before he cupped Niall’s face into his hands and for a moment, Niall thought that Louis was going to kiss him again. The guy indeed kissed him, but this time only on his cheek. “I wish you luck, Niall. I hope you’re not going to wait to win the heart of the person that you love too.” 

 

********************

 

Niall was exhausted. He had waited for more than an hour at the parking lot of his campus before Zayn texted him that he couldn’t make it. He was starving and not to mention it was raining, so he was drenched from head to toe when he arrived home. 

After getting cleaned up, Niall went over to the kitchen, hoping that he could cook something for his grumbling stomach. It was not until he walked over to the fridge that he noticed the note. “Outstation until Friday.” Niall read out loud, and frowned a bit at the note. It was not an unusual occurrence for Zayn to fly out for business trips, but normally he would have told Niall earlier, or maybe called, or sometimes texted him to let him know. Niall shook his head, all remaining anger that he had towards Zayn earlier was gone, but it was replaced by the other feeling that he couldn’t describe. 

He glanced around the kitchen, grabbing one of the breads on the table and made his way towards the living room. It was after a few minutes staring at the television, that Niall realized that the house felt so big all of a sudden. 

That night, Niall didn’t sleep for a wink. 

 

********************

 

Niall was beyond confused. The whole week he didn’t get any text from Zayn and he debated with himself whether he should text the older guy again. He did once on Wednesday, but Zayn had never replied. Niall figured that maybe the guy was busy. But when it was Friday, the only sound that he got from Zayn when the guy was finally home was only a grunt. The older guy kept giving him the cold shoulder for the whole day and Niall would be lying if that wasn’t hurtful. 

Come the next day, the only thing that he had said to Niall in the morning was to be ready for the event by 6pm. Other than that, he pretty much locked himself in his room. Niall pushed away his own feelings and started to think that maybe Zayn was tired, or nervous, because Niall seemed to recall that he had told him that he was one of the persons that needed to give speech afterwards at the event. 

 

********************

 

The moment Niall had stepped into the hall, he was already feeling dread. He glanced around, only to notice that he was probably the youngest person ever at the event. Before he knew it, both he and Zayn were ushered towards their table, the one which was closest to the stage. 

“Oh, baby, I’m glad you made it. You usually didn’t want to come with us.” Niall’s mom said, fawning over him and Niall groaned, swatting his mom’s hand away from his cheeks. 

“Mom, people are watching.” Niall grumbled. He loved his mother, really, but it was not a good time to make him look more out of place at the table. Everyone was all wearing a suit with a tie, while Niall only had put on one of his old suits, and suddenly he felt so self-conscious. 

“It’s nice to see you here, Niall.” Zayn’s mom said and Niall turned his head to look at the woman, smiling politely at her. After all, he was his mother-in-law and, Zayn, who had been giving him a cold shoulder since the day before, suddenly wrapped his arm around Niall and smiled at his mother. 

“Yeah, I need my partner in crime with me tonight, ma.” Zayn said, and part of Niall was mad at Zayn for putting up a happy front in front of their parents, but part of Niall appreciated that gesture. He still wouldn’t want anyone to know about the real story behind his and Zayn’s marriage anyway. 

“So, Niall, I’ve heard you’re in college now?” One of the men at the table asked and Niall turned his head to nod at the man. 

“Yeah, only a few months before I finish.” Niall replied. 

“I see. So, you’re going to take over your father’s spot after this? Continue the legacy?”

“Well, actually-“

“That’s my job, Rob. We talked about this.” Zayn swooped in, before Niall could reply to the man and Niall glared at him. He wanted to reply to the man himself, but apparently Zayn didn’t allow him to. 

So he pouted until the topic died down and when the others were occupied with their own chat, which Niall didn’t have a clue on what they were talking about, he turned to look at Zayn. “Are you embarrassed of me? Cause if you are, I might’ve as well not have come here.” He blurted out. 

Zayn shook his head. “Can we talk about this later? I don’t want to make a scene. Our parents are here,” was the only reply that Niall got from the older guy. 

Niall was mad. Of course he didn’t want to make a scene, he just wanted Zayn to answer him, damn it. “I’m going to get some dessert.” He announced to no one, but he knew Zayn had heard him by the way he nodded after that. 

Niall wandered towards the refreshment table, hoping that he could get some desserts that could cheer him up. He smiled slightly when he saw his favorite cake at one of the dishes. 

“Hi, Niall. Didn’t know you were coming tonight too.” 

Niall turned around, only to come face to face with Liam and he nodded. “Yeah, Zayn asked me last week. Plus, both of our parents are attending too, so-“

Liam nodded, staring at Niall. “Oh, yeah. Makes sense. I guess he just forgot to mention that these past couple of days.” 

Niall blinked his eyes in confusion, but the words suddenly haunted him. “These past couple of days?” He asked dumbly. 

“Yeah, we went to that business trip in Wales and yeah you know, just caught up, guess he forgot to mention about today’s event.” Liam told Niall. 

Niall curled his upper lip to keep himself from asking another question to Liam. His mind whirled with thoughts that only made him assume the worst. So, Zayn had spent a couple of days with Liam, alone? The feeling of jealousy was slowly growing into his skin, and Niall didn’t know what to do with that. So instead, he just smiled at the other guy, but Niall guessed they both knew how fake Niall’s smile was. Or maybe it was just him that felt that way. 

The sound of the microphone tapping got both of their attentions and they both turned around to look at Zayn, who was standing at the small podium on the stage. Niall must admit that he was in awe, the moment Zayn started to give his speech. He never saw Zayn in his element. The version of Zayn that he saw at home, was totally different. 

“He’s so good, isn’t he?” Liam said, startling Niall out of his stupor, and he couldn’t help but nod, agreeing with the guy. He was about to turn his attention back to Zayn again when he noticed _it._ He noticed the way Liam was looking at Zayn at the moment, so fond, so full of love and admiration. 

Niall felt his chest tighten as he knew that look so well. In fact, it was probably the same look that Niall had worn around Zayn lately. 

At that moment, Niall knew he was falling, and this time, he was falling hard. 

 

********************

 

The only thing that made Niall at least cheer up a little bit was the amount of alcohol that he had consumed at the moment. He even had lost count on how many glasses that had been downed into his system. All he knew was once his parents, along with Zayn’s parents had left the event, Zayn had totally ignored him. 

Niall was seething. He clearly remembered on how Zayn had told him that he would be bored at this type of event but as Niall folded the scene in front of him at the moment, Zayn looked like he wasn’t bored at all. The only person that Zayn was talking to was Liam. 

The moment Zayn excused himself to the toilet, Niall stood up after him too, and followed Zayn’s trail. 

“What are you playing here? Why are you ignoring me?” Niall asked once Zayn was out of the toilet stall, heading straight towards the sink. He was thankful that at least the toilet was empty. 

“I’m not ignoring you.” Zayn replied, and Niall noticed that Zayn was only watching him through the mirror and he felt a bit mad. 

Niall snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Did I do something wrong?” 

“No.” 

Niall shook his head. “Zayn-“

“I said no! What part of ‘no’ is it that you don’t understand?!” Zayn yelled, startling Niall slightly. Never in his life, had someone yell at him like that, let alone Zayn. He couldn’t help but feel hurt and he tried his best not to cry in front of Zayn. 

“I want to go back.” Niall mumbled, glancing down to look at his feet instead. 

“Why? So you can meet your boyfriend and fuck him behind my back?” Zayn snapped. 

Niall’s head quickly shot up, as he looked at Zayn. “What?” He asked in confusion. 

He watched as Zayn turned around to finally face him. “I saw you Niall. I saw you kiss him.” 

Niall’s heart dropped. “That’s not what happened.” He told Zayn. His mind whirled back at the day at the parking lot. The last kiss that Louis had given him, and suddenly it all added up in his head. If Zayn said that he saw Niall and Louis, “Wait, does that mean you ditched me that day on purpose?” He asked.

Zayn snorted. “That’s not the point! The point is, you kissed him! I thought you told me you guys were over!” 

“We are!” Niall replied. “Let me explain.”

Zayn shook his head. “You can go to do whatever you want, after all, this is just a fake marriage, right?” 

“Zayn, no, let me explain. Please. I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me.” 

“And you let him?” 

“I-“

“I didn’t know you were such a whore. Always looking for attention.” Zayn snapped harshly. 

That comment, made something inside Niall start to snap and he could feel his blood start to boil with angriness. “Well, you know what? You’re acting like a prick right now! I’m glad that you’re just my fake husband!” Niall snapped and walked out of the restroom. 

His head pounded, he didn’t know why but Zayn’s words had hurt him badly. Was that what Zayn had thought of him all this while? An attention seeker? A _whore_?

He managed to get back to his table, and Zayn was back not so long after. He tried his best not to look at Zayn but it was hard not to when every minute after that, all he heard was the older guy’s voice, along with Liam’s. Niall glanced around to look at his surroundings. Suddenly the feeling of self-consciousness that he felt earlier started to creep back in. He realized he didn’t cut for this world, this corporate world, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see how fit Zayn and Liam were for each other. 

Suddenly, the air was too thick for Niall and he felt suffocated. Without any words, he started to stand up, hastily making his way towards the door. 

Once he reached outside, he could feel the wind starting to burn his eyes and that was when he realized that he was crying. Shakily, he fished out his phone and started to dial the familiar number. “Harry, can you pick me up?” He asked, sniffling. 

 

********************

 

Niall and Zayn went back into their old routine. 

 

********************

 

“I hate him.” 

“Niall-“

“No, I really hate him, Harry. God, it’s like he’s only trying to get me mad every single second.” Niall groaned, plopping down on Harry’s bed, assignments long forgotten. 

He heard Harry sigh, before the guy closed his book and started to give his full attention. “What has he done this time?” 

Niall shrugged. “Same old shit. Messing around the house.” 

“You never had a problem with that before.” Harry pointed out. 

“That time was different.” Niall said, before he continued. “And now, every time I walk out of my room, or get back to the house, most of the time, there’s Liam in the house. Liam this, Liam there, Liam, Liam, Liam.” 

“Oh, really?” 

Niall nodded. “Yes. I seriously can’t wait until our final exam so that I can ask for divorce and live my own life.” He said, but when he saw the serious expression and frown on Harry’s face, he raised his eyebrows. “What?” 

Niall watched as Harry started to move closer towards him, and cautiously, he started to sit beside Niall. “Look, Niall. Are you sure you want to end the marriage? I mean-“ 

“What do you mean? Of course I want to! Everything about this marriage is fake after all.” 

“Are you sure?” Harry asked, staring right into Niall’s eyes, making him nervous all of a sudden. Before Niall could reply, his best friend continued. “Niall, I don’t know if you’re really sure about this decision. I don’t think that every part of your marriage is fake. I think there’s some part is real. Like your feelings for him.” 

Niall’s eyes widened. “What?” He asked in surprise, then he shook his head. “No. I don’t-“

“I know you, Niall. I’ve known you for years.” Harry said, cutting Niall off. “You cried for the whole night when he yelled at you. You keep bitching about Liam every single day. In other words, I know you’re jealous of him.” He pointed out, pausing slightly before he continued. “You’re in love with Zayn, aren’t you?” 

Niall shook his head. “You don’t know that.” He replied defensively. But when Harry stared at him with a look of understanding and compassion, Niall could feel his heart start to crumble. “Oh, god..Harry-“ He said, lips quivering as the sudden realization started to rush into his mind at once. “I love Zayn, oh my god, I’m _in_ love with Zayn.” 

It was when he said those words out loud, that he could feel his heart break, because suddenly he felt like Louis was right, he was just too late to win Zayn’s heart. 

 

********************

 

Niall strummed on his guitar, mind whirling around the paper on his bedside table, and he glanced at the paper briefly, before he continued strumming. The bold “DIVORCE FORM PETITION” letters on the paper were haunting him. 

He really didn’t know what to do at the moment. At one point, he wanted to apply for divorce from Zayn, after all, he was about to graduate and their deal was nearly towards the end. On the other hand, Harry kept encouraging him to tell Zayn about his true feeling towards the older guy, but Niall didn’t know how. He was not an insecure person in general, but around Zayn, he felt like he didn’t stand a chance at all. After all, Zayn had Liam. 

“But it’s no harm trying, Niall.” Harry had told him, and Niall remembered that. 

“But what if things get worst after that, Harry? I’m pretty sure he will reject me.” Niall said, still not sure about what to do. 

He heard Harry sigh, and part of him was feeling bad to load all of these dramas on his best friend. But Harry was the only one who knew about the whole story. Niall didn’t have anyone else to turn to. 

“You won’t know until you try, Niall.” Harry said gently, still encouraging him and Niall closed his eyes, finally nodding. 

“Okay, I’ll try.”

 

********************

 

The moment Niall had opened the front door, he heard the laughter from the living room, and his heart sank slightly. He walked over, cursing slightly at the fact that he needed to cross the living room area before he could reach his own bedroom. He tried his best to be stealthy, trying not to interrupt both guys, who were obviously having so much fun together without him. 

Luckily, both of them were facing the television and Niall was almost halfway towards his bedroom when he heard his name from the mid of the conversation. He stopped walking, suddenly interested on what they were talking about. 

“Niall did that?” Niall heard Liam ask, and he raised his eyebrows, curiously. 

“Yes, I couldn’t believe he threw my white favorite shirt in with the colored ones. You know I was horrified to find my white color had turned into pink. Imagine that.” Zayn told Liam and Niall rolled his eyes. He thought they were over that issue, apparently Zayn still couldn’t forget that silly little mistake. 

Niall shook his head, thinking that the topic of conversation was not interesting until suddenly he heard Liam’s voice again. “Zayn, I want to tell you something.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Zayn, you know how much I loved you, right?” Liam asked, and Niall felt his heart drop. He wanted to go away but his feet couldn’t seem to move at the moment. “I’m still in love with you, Zayn.” 

Niall held his breath as the silence lingered, before he heard Zayn’s voice. “Liam, I love you too.”

And it was all it took for Niall before he walked away and headed straight to his room, slamming the door closed, not really caring anymore if both of them had heard him. He threw himself on the bed, curling into himself as he started to cry. He didn’t know why but he felt like his heart had shattered into a million pieces. He had lost Zayn to Liam, and by the look of it, Niall knew that Zayn didn’t love him. 

Niall didn’t know how long it was until his tears subsided but when he felt himself calm down, he started to sit up and glanced around the room. His eyes caught on the paper on the bedside table. Shakily, he reached for the paper and he stared at it for the moment, before he decided on what to do. 

 

********************

 

Zayn frowned a bit when he didn’t hear anything once he closed the front door. Usually, there was at least a sound of Niall’s guitar strumming, filling up the silence of the house. He watched the wall clock, it was nearly midnight and he thought that maybe Niall had gone to sleep. But when he walked by Niall’s room, he noticed that door was slightly ajar and he raised his eyebrows. 

“Niall?” He called out, cautiously and a little bit worried, as he reminisced the memory when their old house had been robbed before. He pushed the door open a little bit more and switched on the light. He blinked rapidly as he tried to adjust with the sudden brightness. It was when he stepped into the room that he felt his heart drop. 

Everything was gone. The room was empty, and Zayn felt his heart pound as he started to walk closer to the bed. There were a bunch of clothes on the middle of the bed, along with the laptop that he had given Niall and he realized that the clothes were the ones that he had bought for Niall as well. There was a stack of papers besides the laptop, and Zayn reached for it. And once he read the “DIVORCE FORM PETITION” letters, he felt his spirit crumble. 

 

********************

 

Niall bit his lip guiltily, eyes still glancing down on the floor. “I’m sorry.” He apologized again. Never in his life had Niall felt miserable more than he did at the moment. He had just told his parents the real story behind his marriage with Zayn. About how _real_ their marriage was. 

He expected his parents to be mad at him, probably yelling and lecturing involved. But what he didn’t expect was how calm his parents were, although his father did huff angrily, before he told him, “I’m so disappointed in you, Niall,” and walked away from the living room, leaving both Niall and his mother alone. 

He didn’t expect for his mother to pull him into her arms, and Niall stiffened at first before he buried his face on his mother’s shoulder. His mind was a mess and he was so confused until he realized he was crying and he didn’t even know why. 

“I thought you guys were genuinely happy.” His mom said after a while and Niall shook his head. 

“Mom…” He started to whine, trying to stop his mother. 

Apparently his mom either didn’t know what he meant or she was just purposely ignoring him. “Look at me, Niall.” She said and Niall tilted his head up slightly, facing his mother. His mother smiled gently at him. “I’m a mother, Niall. I know these things, okay? I know the first time we saw you guys after you two were married, you both were acting it out, it was so obvious. But recently, I could see the difference in you. In both of you, in fact. Even Zayn’s parents noticed the same thing too. You guys are genuinely happy.” 

Niall sighed, shaking his head. “You don’t know that. You can’t assume that, mom. Zayn’s not happy with me.” He said, glancing down again, staring at his lap. 

It was also the reason why he decided that maybe he should just go. Out of Zayn’s life. He couldn’t bear the thought of forbidding Zayn’s happiness just because of his own selfish reasons. That was why he had started to pack, leaving the things that he didn’t think he deserved, including Zayn. 

Niall heard his mother sigh, and he closed his eyes, not wanting to face his mother’s disappointed face. But a second later, he felt she started to run her finger through his hair and suddenly he felt like a kid again. He was half asleep, at least calmer than before, and starting to fall asleep in his mother’s arms when he heard his mother whisper, “trust a mother’s instinct, Niall.” 

 

********************

 

One person that he didn’t think he would bump into at the café, was definitely Liam. Or maybe it was not really bumping, since he was sitting at his usual spot, trying to study for his final paper for the next day, but it was Liam who was striding towards him. 

“Figured I could find you here.” Liam said, before he took a seat in front of Niall, uninvited. 

If he hadn’t brought so many things with him to the café, he might have been able to flee once he saw Liam but he couldn’t just left leave all of his things, and so it ended up with him, reluctantly having to face Liam. 

“What are you doing here? And how come you knew I was here?” Niall asked curiously. 

“I came to see you.” Liam said, before he continued. “And Zayn had mentioned that you love to chill and do your work here.” 

At the mention of Zayn’s name, Niall felt his heart start to pound rapidly, and he shook his head, trying to get rid of the pang of jealousy that he felt at that moment. Many scenarios were playing in his head. “Did Zayn finally sign the divorce paper?” He blurted out. 

Liam glared at him. “You’re so selfish, you know that?” 

Niall glared back. “What the fuck? If you came here just to boast around and get mad at me for no reason, then I suggest you’d better go away because I have other important things to do right now.” He spat at Liam. 

“Boast around?” 

Niall shrugged, starting to put his stuff into his bag as he could see that Liam didn’t have any intention to leave him alone. “Congratulations for you both, being in love and all.” He said casually. 

“In love?” Liam asked, parroting him and Niall felt his irritation grew. Before he could say anything, Liam beat him to it. “Oh my god, Niall. You thought that Zayn loves me?” 

“At least that was what I heard.” Niall told Liam, before he continued. “Clearly.” He glanced up when he heard Liam laugh and he raised his eyebrows in confusion. “What?” 

Liam smiled sadly, shaking his head at him. “I do love him, Zayn, you know. But he loves you.” 

“No, he doesn’t.” Niall replied quickly. He was pretty sure that Zayn didn’t love him. Not at all. 

“Yes, he does. For a long time, nonetheless.” 

Niall stared at the older guy. “I don’t understand.” 

Liam sighed, before he started to talk again. “I loved him the first moment I saw him. But even back then, he was in love with someone else. Almost every day I’ve heard the same name. But once he went back home for a holiday, he came back to uni, not mentioning the name anymore. I thought I had a chance, so I told him I loved him.” He told Niall. “The short story is, he rejected me, I was hurt so we kind of drifted apart after that.” He continued. “And then we met again, but by that time, I heard he was married, to you.” 

“I’m sorry.” Niall apologized, although he didn’t know why. But part of him felt guilty for being the person that was getting in the way between both Zayn and Liam. If only he had said no to the marriage..

Liam shook his head. “It was not your fault, Niall. I understood completely why he agreed to marry you.” 

Niall raised his eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked. 

“Go see him, Niall. You’ll understand.” Liam said, before he started to stand, and walked away, leaving a very confused Niall. 

 

********************

 

Niall didn’t go to see Zayn. 

 

********************

 

He did go to see Zayn, when Zayn’s mother had called him, worry laced in her tone, as she claimed that she hadn’t heard from Zayn for several days. Niall had felt so guilty, that he promised her that he would check on Zayn later on. 

And that was why Niall finally opened the front door, entering the house, and scrunching his nose in disgust at the mess. 

He heard the sound of the television from the living room, and it felt like déjà vu as he walked towards the sound. He stepped into the living room cautiously, afraid to see what he wasn’t supposed to see, but sighed in relief when he only found Zayn on the couch, curling into himself and staring blankly at the television. 

He cleared his throat, making Zayn’s head snap up to look at him, and his eyes widened as he spotted Niall. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Niall shifted his feet, shrugging before he talked. “Your mom is worried. Said you didn’t pick up her calls.”

He watched as Zayn shrugged. “Tell her I’m fine.” He said to Niall. “And you should go away. I want to be alone.” He added, before turning his head to face the television again. 

Niall sighed. He didn’t really know how to deal with _this_ Zayn. So he walked closer towards the older guy, trying to talk some sense into him and it was near the couch that he noticed the familiar paper on the coffee table. Suddenly, everything seemed so surreal to Niall. He stared at the bottom right of the paper. Zayn still hadn’t signed for his behalf yet. “Zayn…”

“Go away, Niall. I thought you wanted a divorce.” Zayn spat, and Niall flinched slightly. 

Instead of running away, Niall, for once decided that he wanted to talk to Zayn like an adult, like it was supposed to be. So he took a seat at the edge of the coffee table, blocking Zayn’s view of the television, trying to catch his attention. “We need to talk about this marriage.” 

He watched as Zayn rolled his eyes at him, but the older guy was finally sitting up, facing him. “Talk.” 

Niall swallowed thickly, before he straightened up and started to speak. “Look, we both know about the real deal behind this marriage and why it happened. I was just too selfish to agree because I didn’t want my parents to cut me off. But now I realize, it’s unfair to you because you’re suffering on your end too. I admit I was being hard on you all this while and I’m sorry for that.” He said sincerely. “And I just want you to be happy, Zayn, I truly do. When I saw you with Liam, I figured, maybe you could be happy with him, you know? Your ex-“

“Liam’s not my ex.” Zayn said quickly, cutting Niall off mid-sentence.

Niall nodded. “I know.” 

“What?” Zayn asked, and stared at him confusingly. 

“Liam came to see me.” Niall told the guy in front of him. “He truly loves you, Zayn. You guys would be perfect together.” He added, before glancing down at the floor, not really wanting to get lost into Zayn’s eyes. He could feel his own heart break at the thought of Zayn and Liam, but he can’t be selfish, can he? 

“Harry came to see me too, you know.” 

Niall’s head shot up quickly. “What?!” 

Zayn nodded at him. “He kept babbling on how stupid I was, especially about the whole Louis fiasco. He said that Louis was the one who started to kiss you and you told him no because you’re over him. And he kept telling me to call you, to explain, that I didn’t mean to say those harsh words.” He said, staring at Niall. “And he was right. I’m so sorry about that.”

Niall shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay, Zayn. I already forgot about that.” 

“No, it’s not okay.” Zayn said firmly. “I was just blinded by my own feelings. Harry was right.” 

“Harry was wrong. You shouldn’t listen to him.” Niall pointed out. 

“I should.” Zayn said. 

“Zayn-“ 

Zayn shook his head firmly and Niall knew it was time for him to let the older guy speak. “He was right about me. About my feelings for you.” He told Niall. “I was jealous.” 

Niall stared at Zayn in confusion. “Jealous? Of me and Louis?” He asked. 

Zayn nodded, and Niall saw the slight blush on Zayn’s cheeks and finally, he nodded. “I was jealous about you and Liam too, you know.” He admitted, eyes gazing anywhere but Zayn. “I overheard both of you the other night. When he said he loves you and you love him too.” He continued. “Liam said I was stupid for not hearing the whole thing.” He finished, and by the way his cheeks felt warmth, he knew that his face must be as reddish as it could be. 

Silence lingered for a moment between them, and Niall didn’t dare to look up to see Zayn’s face because honestly, he felt so embarrassed about his confession. What if Zayn didn’t like him back? His stupor was cut off when he heard Zayn’s bark of laughter and he felt his heart drop. 

Suddenly, Niall felt mad, and he shook his head, feeling like Zayn was laughing at him. He stood up abruptly, starting to leave, but before he could walk away, Zayn grabbed his hand, turning him around and started to kiss him. 

Niall’s eyes widened as he could feel the warmth of Zayn’s mouth and it sent a current running through his body. Then, he threw his arms around Zayn’s neck as he lost himself in the older guy’s soft lips. 

Once they pulled away from the kiss, Zayn smiled at him and poked his nose gently. “You don’t know how long I wanted to do that.” He told Niall. “Liam was right. I was in love with you, for a long time, you know?” 

“What?!”

Zayn laughed, shaking his head and leaned down slightly until his face was close enough to Niall’s. “I don’t know if you remember this, but once, before I flew out to uni, I had a dinner at your house, I think it was your birthday party. You were so young, but you were so cute and happy and I think at that moment, I developed a crush on you.” He said. “And then couple of years later, I think when it was your 16th birthday celebration, I was there too, and I thought I had already forgotten about you. But when I saw you again that night, I think my crush might have been developed into something that’s called love.” 

Niall blushed, shaking his head and staring at Zayn in disbelief. “Don’t make up a story, Zayn. We were so young back then! Hell, I even still had my braces when I was 16. And why in the world didn’t I recognize or remember you?” 

Zayn chuckled. “I always thought your smile with braces was adorable.” He cooed. “And you didn’t notice me because I was mostly spending my time watching you from the balcony, because I was having a smoke. And also, I think you had a boyfriend at that time? Thought I saw you guys kissing. I don’t think you would even look my way at that time.” 

“Oh.” Niall said simply, still trying to process the information that Zayn had just told him. “So, this arranged marriage thing…it means, you voluntarily agreed to marry me?” 

Zayn’s cheeks flustered as he nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I was already 25 years old and my mum kept bugging me to get married and I told her if she really wanted me to get married, find the match for me. The next thing I know, they wanted me to marry you.” He told Niall. “It was all of sudden, and I was not sure on how to say no. One, they are my parents, and my mum looked so adamant and happy about it, and two, I was already in love with you.”

Niall swallowed thickly, feeling overwhelmed at the openness that Zayn was showing him at the moment. “Zayn-“

“No, let me finish.” Zayn said, cutting Niall off. “I know you don’t love me, but please, give me a chance to make you fall in love with me?”

Niall smiled at Zayn, shaking his head. “You idiot. What makes you think I don’t already feeling like I’m falling in love with you? Why do you think I was jealous at you and Liam?”

Zayn laughed. “I can’t believe we’re both idiots.”

Niall snorted. “Just you.” He joked and yelped when Zayn pinched him for his comment. “But at least, we’re a married idiots.” He continued. 

Zayn grinned, before he lifted Niall’s body up by his waist and twirled them both around, laughing happily. 

 

********************

 

“Niall?”

Niall glanced up from the sink, and he stared at the mirror, staring at the reflection of him, and Harry who was standing behind him. 

“Niall, what are you doing here? Everyone is looking for you.” Harry asked, taking a closer step towards Niall. “What’s wrong?” 

Niall turned around, staring at his best friend, before he shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do this, Harry.” 

Harry stared at him. “Do what?” 

“This.” Niall said, pointing at himself, at the suit that he was wearing. “Marrying Zayn, in front of the families and friends. It feels so real.”

“Well, it _is_ real.” Harry said. 

Niall took a deep breath, toying with his fingers, and glancing down at the floor. “I don’t even know if Zayn really _loves_ me. I mean, yeah, we admitted our feelings, but then, what if it was just a heat of the moment? What if Zayn doesn’t really love me? What if-“

His words were cut off when he was pulled into a hug by Harry, and he rested his chin against Harry’s shoulder, tiptoeing slightly, and trying to get the comfort from his best friend. 

“Zayn loves you, Niall. Trust me, he loves you so much.” Harry said reassuringly. 

“I don’t know…” Niall trailed off. 

Harry rolled his eyes, before he started to speak up again. “Okay, listen here. Who’s the one who always listen to your whining over everything?”

“You.” Niall replied quickly. 

Harry shook his head. “You’re like my brother, Niall, but I do have limits about listening to your whine, you know that.” He said. “So, who is it then?” 

It took a moment before Niall finally understood the point of the question. “Zayn.” He mumbled against Harry’s shoulder. 

“Who’s the one who is always waiting up, or picking you up from club when we go out, and take care of your hangover after that?” 

“Zayn.”

Harry nodded. “Who was-“

“Okay, Harry, I got your point.” Niall said, cutting Harry off. He felt calmer than before, and Harry’s hands tightened around him. 

“See, I could list other dozen of things that he’s done for you. If that still doesn’t prove that he _really_ loves you, I don’t know what will.” Harry said. “You know I read this one quote, _marriage is finding that special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life_ , and I think you’ve found one.” 

Niall chuckled, before he pulled away from Harry, and pouting at his best friend. “I’m not annoying.”

“Yeah, you are.” Harry deadpanned, with his dimpled smile and sparkled eyes. “But I don’t think Zayn minds that, he loves you too much that even the blind people can see his love for you.” 

“Shut up.” Niall grumbled, his cheeks started to flush with embarrassment at Harry’s words. 

Harry laughed, pinching at Niall’s cheeks, before he glanced at his watch. “Okay, we’d better go and get ready before your mother starts to hunt us.” 

 

********************

 

Niall’s eyes tear up in joy when he saw Zayn at the altar. His heart fluttered when Zayn smiled lovingly at him, before they both started to face the priest. 

“Dear family and friends, on behalf of Zayn Javadd Malik and Niall James Horan, I welcome all of you for this marriage celebration. We are here today to encourage, celebrate and support the covenant these two people and to share in the joy that Zayn and Niall are feeling as they pledge their love and commitment to each other.” The priest said.

Niall felt his throat dried when the priest stared at both of them. “The man who stands by your side is going to be your husband. He will look to you for comfort, for support, for love, for understanding, for encouragement, and for protection. You must never take him for granted, and always stand by him for good or ill.” 

Zayn turned to look at him. “Today in presence of God and family and friends, I join my life with yours. Wherever you go, I will go. Whatever you face, I will face. For good times or bad times, in happiness or sadness, come riches or poverty, I take you as my husband.” Zayn spoke as his eyes was shining with the sincerity of his words, and Niall’s eyes welled up. He cleared his throat, before he repeated the same words to Zayn. 

The priest turned to look at Zayn first and started to speak up. “Do you, Zayn Javadd Malik take Niall James Horan to be your lawful wedded husband to have and behold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live.”

“I do.”

“Do you, Niall James Horan take Zayn Javvad Malik to be your lawful wedded husband to have and behold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live.”

“I do.” Niall had never been so sure in his life except those two words that had just left his mouth. 

There were some sniffles could be heard, and Niall knew it came from both of their mothers after the exchanged vows and rings was finished. He stared at Zayn, and they both held their loving gazes, relishing the moment. 

 

********************

 

Niall smiled brightly, as his eyes glued on the window of the airplane, taking on the view below. At the moment, he felt so happy. He felt Zayn’s hand slip through his finger, his _ring_ -ed finger and he turned his head to look at his husband. 

“I can’t believe we’re going to our first honeymoon.” 

Zayn chuckled slightly. “I can’t believe we’ve gotten married twice.” He pointed out. 

Niall grinned, before he shifted until he could lay his head on Zayn’s chest, and curl onto his husband. He smiled slightly as he recalled the day of their wedding. 

Even though a few months before that were full of bookings and deciding and everything, even arguing, but Niall couldn’t be happier like how he felt when they were both announced as husbands, in front of the families and guests. It was worth it to see the happiness on his parent’s face, and Zayn’s parents too when they finally got married, properly. 

Niall tilted his head up, and shifted until he could kiss on Zayn’s lip briefly. “I hope you know that this is real, and permanent and I love this.”

**Author's Note:**

> this story can also be found at my **[tumblr](http://niallhoranisasecretfurby.tumblr.com/post/104077163716/do-i-wanna-know)**


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